


Signal Lost

by PallasCat



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Angst, Communication Issues, M/M, kiss, post-System Rift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 16:50:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17429756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PallasCat/pseuds/PallasCat
Summary: Adam cut off all communication with Francis. But is it really the end ?





	Signal Lost

Persistent knocking on his door. Amazing. Just what he needed after a long day of work, being called a ‘hanzer’, ‘clank’, ‘tin-man’, and various other lovely nicknames by his own coworkers. First Adam tried to ignore the pounding, sipping more alcohol from his glass but it didn’t stop and soon it started to get on his nerves.

 

The aug pushed himself off the couch with a grunt and walked to the door, opening it roughly.

 

“Whatever you’re selling I’m not interes-...”

 

“Goodie. Nice to see you too, Jensen.” retorted the hacker, a frown slapped on his face and his hands buried in his pockets, Adam suspected his knuckles were bruised from all the knocking.

 

“Pritchard ? What the Hell ?!”

 

“Don’t act like you’re surprised now, Jensen. You gave me no choice ! Now will you let me in or are you expecting me to freeze on your doorstep ?”

 

The aug blinked for a second before stepping aside, allowing his ex-coworker inside. The hacker stormed inand took off his scarf and dropped a duffel bag Adam hadn’t noticed earlier next to the couch.

 

“Well, at least you’ve unpacked this time. I guess TF29 is treating you right.” noted the hacker walking around while taking quick peeks at the books and items littering his flat.

 

“What are you doing here, Pritchard ? I thought we were done.” sighed Adam, rubbing his temples, feeling the headache coming.

 

“Yes, well, if you hadn’t cut me off you would have known why I’m here. Too bad you’re too busy trying to keep people away to actually listen to them.”

 

The aug rolled his eyes. “Come on, don’t tell me you went all the way to Prague just to scold me. I was tired and not in the mood, don’t act as if you’ve never done it yourself.”

 

“Unlike _you_ I actually have some consideration for the people I appreciate.”

 

“It’s not like that-...”

 

“What is it like then ?! You spent a whole year radio silent ! I sent you messages, I tried to reach out, stay in touch ! But you just played dead ! And when I finally get to talk to you again you just cut me off ?! What are you playing at, Jensen ?”

 

The hacker was boiling with rage, his face reddened by anger, stabbing his finger against Adam’s bare chest as he cornered the man against the wall. The aug’s CASIE flashed out warnings but he turned them off, trying to move away from the furious tech.

 

“You know it’s not that easy, Francis ! The people after me-...”

 

Pritchard threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “Oh, yes ! The mighty Conspiracy ! And here you were calling  _me_ paranoid ! Well guess what ? They don’t scare me !”

 

Adam grabbed Frank’s shoulders,  trying to shake some reason inside the tech’s skull . “I’m trying to  _protect you_ , Francis ! I don't want anybody to be hurt because of me ever again !”

 

Pritchard batted the hands away. “Spare me the bullshit ! You’re not trying to protect me ! You want to protect  _yourself_ . You’re scared of what happened with Megan happening again ! But you can’t just push everything away and pretend it doesn’t exist ! As improbable as it sounds there’s people out there who care about you, who could help you ! But you’d rather be a stubborn idiot and wallow in self-pity !”

 

He didn’t want to hear that, he didn’t want to think about it again, he didn’t want to  _feel_ again.

 

“Why do you even care ?! You got what you wanted of me so just _go_ ! _Leave_ ! We’re _done_ ! Go on with your life and _forget me_ !” yelled the aug, finally bursting.

 

“I can’t, Jensen !”

 

“Why ?!”

 

“Because-… Because everything hurts...” the hacker’s voice broke.

 

Adam froze, was he trembling ? Frank sniffled, covering his face with his hand but the aug had already caught a glimpse of the tears welling up in the other man’s eyes.

 

“...Francis.”

 

“Don’t, Jensen… Not now.”

 

But Adam didn’t listen, slowly taking the hacker’s wrist and moving the hand away from his face. The sight sent a sharp pinch to his chest, water running down his cheeks, mouth painfully twisted to sniffle the sobs threatening to escape the eyes squeezed shut to avoid looking up at the aug holding his arm gently. Adam didn’t know what to do, Frank wasn’t the type to break down and cry. He didn’t want the man to hurt, that’s why he had kept him away for so long.

 

“Francis, talk to me.”

 

The hacker scoffed. “Now you want to talk ? That’s rich.

 

The icy grey eyes opened and riveted themselves in the augmented ones, the tears kept falling and Adam lifted his other hand to wipe them off.

 

“What’s wrong ?”

 

“You. It’s you that’s wrong. Everything is wrong but-… it’s you who hurt me the most.” finally said the hacker, allowing the smooth fingers to brush his cheeks.

 

“I’m sorry. I never meant to. I thought-… I just hoped you would forget about me.”

 

Pritchard hissed, pushing the hand away from his face. “I  _tried_ , Jensen. I can take a hint when it’s rubbed into my face. But I couldn’t… I just can’t help it. You’re always on my mind and I can’t let go. It hurts to think about you but thinking about you is the only thing that makes the rest feel better. I think I’m going fucking crazy.”

 

Adam could hear the pain in the shiver of his voice, in the faint wheeze of his breathing, in the way his shoulders slumped.

 

“Francis… You can’t do this, I won’t be able to protect you.”

 

“I’m not asking to be protected, Jensen ! I can take care of myself ! I’m not some damsel in distress you have to rescue on your brave white horse ! Just...help me. Finish this. Instead of leaving me hanging... I don’t know what to do any more.”

 

The tech looked down, head low, waiting for the aug to take him out of his misery. Let it end. Let it all end. Let it all fall. The hand holding his’ squeezed lightly.

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Jensen, please !”

 

“Whatever you want to do… I can’t end this. I-… The reason why I can’t just end it here is just that… I don’t want to.”

 

Pritchard looked up, eyes desperately scanning his face for a shred of truth in his words. Adam had laid himself bare. Shed the armour. Now he waited. Vulnerable for the first time in years.

 

“Jensen… If you don’t send me off _now_ I’m going to do something incredibly foolish we might both regret.”

 

Adam chuckled sadly then opened his arms wide, still backed against the wall, exposed, trusting. “then do it.”

 

The hacker let out a chocked sob and surged forward, grabbing the aug’s face and smashing their mouths together. The contact sent a surge of electricity through their spines. Adam moaned in the kiss and wrapped his arms around Pritchard, pressing him tight against his warm chest. He never wanted to let go. Never more. The feeling of each others’ hands, of each others’ lips, the sound of their choked sobs and gasps, the warmth spreading under their skins, filling a hole with feverish need they have both been longing for.

 

It wasn’t a pretty kiss, it was full of need, desperation, and a paralysing fear of the unknown. Their tongues darted, met, and it became too much for the both of them, letting go with a wet noise.

 

They remained motionless for a few seconds, dizzy, breathing hard, both trying to piece out what exactly had happened. Pritchard had one hand in Jensen’s short hair and the other pressed against his chest. Adam was  leaning against the wall, both his hands around the hacker’s waist, keeping him in his warm embrace.

 

Frank’s hand slid along Adam’s scalp and brushed his cheek. His words were gone, overwhelmed by the storm of feelings cascading inside his mind. Adam could tell, as he took the hand and tenderly kissed his palm.

 

“Thank you for not letting me go.”

 

A shaky gasp escaped from the tech’s throat as the lips moved against his skin. “I coudln’t, Adam.”

 

The aug smiled. “Will you stay here ? For a few days at least ?”

 

“I only booked the flight to come here… so I guess I can stay for as long as you’d like.”

 

“I love you, Francis… ”


End file.
